Chapter 6: A Budding Consultant
When Tobirama finally located Hashirama, he walked in on the scene of his older brother having just lost his last ryo.
His brother was a man skilled in almost every area, but his excessive love for gambling was a glaring flaw, and his complete lack of skill at it made him the very definition of someone who was both talented and yet hopelessly addicted.
Hashirama, however, saw through his brother's Transformation Jutsu instantly and immediately stretched out his hand. "Give me money."
Tobirama's face darkened. He clenched his fists and said with solemn gravity, "I have something very important to discuss with you."
Hearing the tone that was utterly devoid of jest—his brother had never been one for jokes in the first place—the transformed Hashirama relented. The two left the gambling den and found a quiet spot under a large tree to sit.
"Tell me, what is it?" Hashirama asked, his voice reverting to its normal, deep tone despite his changed appearance.
Tobirama organized his thoughts. "Regarding the Wetland Bridge, I have two potential plans."
Hashirama burst out laughing. "As expected of you! To come up with two plans at once. Well, that's the Second Hokage for you."
Tobirama's face remained utterly expressionless at the compliment. He wasn't fooled; he knew the position of Hokage felt more like a cage to his carefree brother. It's fine for you to happily dump the role on me so you can go have fun, leaving me with all the bad luck.
Putting that aside, he focused on the matter at hand. Tobirama then laid out the two plans: the original one using five Jonin to complete the bridge in a day, and the alternative Shenjin Youya had suggested about hiring hundreds of civilians.
Hashirama stroked his chin thoughtfully, then looked at Tobirama in genuine surprise. "Youya really proposed that?"
Tobirama's face was still a mask. "Yes. And he said that instead of giving the bridge construction funds to five Jonin, it would be better to distribute the money among the hundreds of civilian workers."
Hashirama laughed heartily once more. Then he looked seriously at Tobirama. "I don't know the full extent of his reasoning, but from this perspective alone, he might be more suited for administrative planning than you are."
Tobirama knew Hashirama was joking. The position of Hokage wasn't something one could fill based on a single infrastructure project. It required the recognition of the entire village, and most importantly, immense personal strength. Youya was far too young; it was completely impossible.
"What I'm curious about... is how he came up with this line of thinking," Tobirama said, squinting his eyes at Hashirama.
Hashirama understood immediately. "You don't mean to... shirk your duties, do you?"
Tobirama's temper flared. "What shirking?! This is about nurturing the next generation of Konoha! Moreover, if that boy truly has talent in this area, we can train him as a future advisor!"
Hashirama nodded repeatedly, a teasing glint in his eye. "Yes, yes, you're absolutely right. You're not trying to shirk duties, you're not being lazy, and you're definitely not neglecting your work."
Tobirama's fist clenched. You bastard, you get to roam free and happy every day, leaving all the tedious work to me. Now that I've finally found a potential opportunity to delegate some of the planning burden, can't I seize it? I am the Hokage!
…
Disguised using the Transformation Jutsu as substitute teachers—two real teachers were on a mission today, making their identities easy to borrow—Hashirama and Tobirama infiltrated the Ninja Academy.
In truth, the current ninja school was less a formal institution and more like a glorified kindergarten, a place for children from different clans to meet and socialize with their peers from the same village. While the teachers were responsible, most were shinobi who spent their time learning jutsu and going on missions; where would they have learned proper teaching methods? The children were often unruly and mischievous, and the key problem was that most came from major clans and couldn't be easily disciplined. Many shinobi would rather run a thousand-mile mission and exhaust themselves to death than continue suffering here. Consequently, teachers frequently took leave for various "unforeseen circumstances."
Hashirama and Tobirama slipped in easily. Playing the role of guest teachers, they didn't bother to control the noisy children. In their view, it was good for kids to be energetic.
However, during recess, they saw Shenjin Youya standing on a desk, regaling other children with tales of his "journey to the Western Continent," which piqued the brothers' curiosity.
Why would you go west for no reason? He didn't even explain that clearly. And then he started talking about battles with ninjas and mythical beasts...
Hold on, which ninjas have you actually fought? Weren't you just getting beaten up one-sidedly during spars?
The two brothers were full of internal吐槽, but seeing the children listening with rapt attention, they decided not to interrupt and expose the little braggart.
During the lunch break, after Shenjin Youya finished the bento prepared by Lady Mito, he immediately set his sights on other children's lunch boxes.
"Oh? Kazuko, your bento today doesn't look very appetizing," Youya said, targeting Hyuga Kazuko first.
The little girl frowned and glared at him. "What are you trying to say?!"
Youya shook his head and sighed dramatically. "Your lunch just doesn't look delicious. Who made it for you?"
The little girl's eyes widened in anger. "My mother made this for me! How dare you say it doesn't look good?! You can't even say if it tastes good without eating it!"
Shenjin Youya curled his lip, holding out his chopsticks with a look of utter disdain. "Then let me verify if it tastes good."
He then proceeded to scoop several large meatballs and a chicken drumstick into his mouth, chewed a few times, and nodded. "Hmm, not bad. It actually tastes quite good. I apologize; I shouldn't have said it looked unappetizing."
Hyuga Kazuko immediately raised her head, her expression proud. "It's good that you know."
She then happily started eating her rice with the few remaining green vegetables.
Shenjin Youya's eyes scanned the room and landed on another girl. He sauntered over, running a hand through his hair with a cocky expression. "Hey, Rou, your Uchiha bento doesn't look very tasty either. I wonder how it compares to the Hyuga one?"
Uchiha Rou glanced at Shenjin Youya, then over at Hyuga Kazuko. The Hyuga and Uchiha were both prestigious clans in Konoha.
Uchiha Rou pushed her bento toward Shenjin Youya and said with a serious face, "Please provide a fair evaluation."
Shenjin Youya nodded sagely and then helped himself to the fish fillets and roasted rabbit meat.
"Not bad, not bad. You two are tied for today. I will provide another judgment tomorrow!"
This entire operation left Hashirama and Tobirama, who were watching secretly from outside the window, utterly dumbfounded.
The two brothers looked at each other and confirmed one thing: the gears turning in Shenjin Youya's head were definitely different from those of an ordinary child.
…
Shenjin Youya returned home. Unusually, Hashirama had not gone to the gambling dens today and was instead waiting for him.
After Youya entered, Senju Hashirama got straight to the point. "If you were put in charge of the Wetland Bridge construction project, could you see it through to completion?"
Shenjin Youya blinked, looking first at Hashirama, then at Uzumaki Mito. The mistress had her eyes closed, meditating, and seemed unlikely to intervene.
"Well, I could manage it," Youya replied matter-of-factly. "But ordinary people wouldn't listen to the orders of a kid like me."
Hashirama's eyebrows shot up in surprise.
If a normal child were asked such a question, they would likely refuse immediately or be utterly confused... Why did this brat just follow the premise of the question without missing a beat?
This kid was really... completely different from ordinary children.